MIT researcher starts move to cheaper solar energy

Cambridge (MA) - A new solar energy start-up called 1366 Technologies has just received $12.4 million in venture capital to help foster and enhance a solar technology created by MIT professor Emanuel Sachs.

Sachs invented string ribbon solar manufacturing, which is a new way to produce and maintain solar energy cells. It makes the alternative energy source more accessible and affordable.

The technology was seen as a crucial step in solar energy, and an entire company was created around in in December 2007. Since then, the main setback has been a lack of funds.

Sachs noted the venture capital investment is a big deal, because money is the next step in bringing this technology to a bigger scale since the research and development is essentially done.

"The science is understood, the raw materials are abundant and the products work. All that is left to do is innovate in manufacturing and scale up volume production, and that’s just what we intend to do," he said.

The goal is to set up a series of factories to manufacture solar cells using the new technology.